The Kingdom Hospital rests on ancient marshland
where the bleaching ponds once lay.
Here the bleachers moistened their great spans of cloth.
The steam evaporating from the wet cloth
shrouded the place in permanent fog.
Centuries later the hospital was built here.
The bleachers gave way to doctors and researchers,
the best brains in the nation and the most perfect technology.
To crown their work they called the hospital The Kingdom.
Now life was to be charted, and ignorance and superstition
never to shake the bastions of science again.
Perhaps their arrogance became too pronounced,
and their persistent denial of the spiritual.
For it is as if the cold and damp have returned.
Tiny signs of fatigue are appearing in the solid, modern edifice.
No living person knows it yet, but the gateway to the Kingdom
is opening once again.
The Unheavenly Host
Hook? Has anyone come in from that ambulance?
Haven't the foggiest.
It's weird ... Look at it!
There you are!
Lovely, eh?
Do you think it's weird, too?
She's in there. One of yours.
Good evening. Good evening.
My name's Jørgen Hook, and I'm a neurosurgeon.
My name's Sigrid Drusse. ... Are you a good doctor?
No problem there. Your hand's acting up?
Yes, pins and needles.
And I need it for my pendulum.
The patient complains of pins and needles ...
Mrs. Drusse, you're back again! Yes.
My arm. I'm going to the neurosurgical ward.
It's very difficult to get a place there.
Say hello to my son when he gets to work ...
Hello. Hello.
Someone was crying. From the children's ward.
The lift passes it.
No, no, it was as if someone was on top of the lift.
I see.
Is this neurosurgery? Yes.
It's hard to get a place here.
The little girl has revealed herself to the old lady.
Where did it happen?
In the lift. In the lift?
My name is Helmer. Consultant neurosurgeon.
The flagstone must be put right immediately.
Or there'll be an accident. Can I speak to your boss?
He's not here.
Helmer's obviously not coming. Let's start.
He has a heavy case load. We can't expect him on the dot.
He has no neurological complaint,
so the state of his case load is irrelevant.
I admitted Mrs. Drusse with paresis or paraesthesiae in her right arm.
I propose a CT scan.
OK.
You know that only the consultant neurosurgeon can book a CT scan.
Fix it, will you?
The hospital can't grind to a halt just because Helmer wants a lie-in.
I see. And where do you think your boss might be?
I did hear about a water pipe that burst this morning.
The water is leaking beneath the car park.
Excuse me, aren't you in charge of the sleep laboratory?
Yes. Interested? Sure am.
Where's the morning conference? It's over.
We didn't think you were coming, so I considered ...
You considered, did you?
When Professor Moesgaard has his private clinic,
the conference begins when I get here
and ends when I leave.
Sit down. Last night. Any new admissions?
The door. Thank you.
New admissions, I said! Yes, a Mrs. Drusse.
With paresis and paraesthesiae of the right arm. She has ...
She has? Has what?
She has been sent for a CT scan.
Pardon?
Mrs. Drusse has been sent for a CT scan.
A CT scan.
There is one person at this hospital with the right
to book a CT scan. And that, I humbly submit,
is the consultant neurosurgeon.
I considered ...
Considered ... Is there a word for budget in Danish?
Must I spell it out? BUD ...
Rigmor! How far
does the humiliation go
in this accursed country? Can you tell me?
No, Stig.
Cancel that scan instantly.
I'm afraid it's impossible.
She's already in the scanner.
Mummy.
You can't do this to me. Hello, Bulder.
You promised you'd never do it again.
Mummy, this hospital is where I work.
Yes, but this time I think I really am ill, Bulder.
Come on, Mummy. Porter? Lay out the patient.
Gently does it.
Now go.
In we go. Thank you so much.
Hello, Helmer.
Good you're here.
Something very, very serious has occurred.
Goodness!
Junior registrar Hook has booked a CT scan.
Illness is always a sad business.
But we must get used to the fact that this is a hospital
surrounded by patients, however difficult it may be.
You know what a blessing a CT scan can be.
Yes, but since when has a junior registrar
had the right to book one? They're the prerogative
of the consultant neurosurgeon. I demand
that there be consequences!
Helmer, keep your shirt on. He may not be the best doctor
but in his own way he's rather an asset.
For a junior registrar to be able to book a CT scan
is absurd.
Helmer, the best way for you to settle in here
is probably not by instigating disciplinary proceedings.
I am fond of Hook and I am sure you will be, too.
Take a pew.
What do you say to this ... logo?
I've called our new human resources plan "Operation Morning Breeze".
We must be receptive to new ideas as regards patients and staff.
I rather feel the sun symbolises all that ...
And this is Operation Morning Breeze?
Like it? No.
Shall we have stickers made?
Yes ... perhaps.
You're the boss.
You do know why Helmer's here?
No Swedish hospital will touch him.
Why not?
He had some researchers in his last department
who did fantastic work. He published it as his own.
That's just a rumour. No, it's not.
Moesgaard read his article in The Lancet.
I don't think he even wrote the article himself.
I like your coat.
It's just like yours.
You look better in yours. Busy tonight?
I've got to study. I've got to.
All that research can't be good for you.
Or is it personal?
Do I offend you? You're always so busy when I ask.
Where does the junior registrar think he's going?
Home to bed. I've been on duty for 12 hours.
If your boots are big enough for you to book a CT scan
they're big enough for you to attend X-ray conference.
Now we will purify this room
and all of us here
from the larum of the living.
Are there any spirits here?
If there are any spirits here
announce your presence!
Yes ...
Yes.
We've just time for the acute scan on Mrs. Drusse.
Forgive a slightly ignorant man before we proceed ...
... but how much does a CT scan actually cost?
Pretty cheap, I expect?
Pretty expensive.
Indeed? Expensive? How much?
10,000.
Goodness! What a bargain!
Specially as we're living in a financial crisis.
Let's see if we got anything.
No, as I would have expected.
Not even a fly dropping.
Look ... junior registrar ...
Here is an illustration of the brain of a malingerer
to stick in your wee scrap book.
There is somebody ...
He is seeking into this circle.
Where is she?
Eh? 26.
He is getting closer.
He is small, hairy ...
... primitive.
What's this?
"Please do not disturb Mummy. On behalf of the spirits ..."
A disgusting man. Oh, Oh!
Excuse me, ladies!
I am wholly to blame.
Sister? Who's that? Is that Mrs. Drusse?
Yes.
Here is a picture of her nut.
There is some grey matter slopping about inside it
known by the ignorant as her brain.
I understand she is a kind of spiritual leader
for these more or less terminal ladies?
A status she doesn't deserve. It's all bluff
on the part of this poor numskull
like the illness she feigns to gain a bit of attention.
Admitted 25 times ...
25 times at this hospital alone.
A malingerer.
A damned malingerer!
I have been to hospital a lot. But I am very ill.
Ill? You are ill? Yes.
You are ill.
"The patient says her arm is weak and tingling".
That's a quote.
From A General Textbook in Neurology.
Available at any public library,
any kindergarten.
Look ... "The arm feels weak and tingling".
Et cetera.
Next time you want to malinger in my ward,
I'd be bloody grateful if you'd refrain
from quoting directly from A General Textbook in Neurology.
Sister! Discharge this patient forthwith.
Idiot!
Who the hell was that? Professor Moesgaard's son.
He's a medical student.
The professor expects great things of him.
Indeed.
Staff only
Hello, Camilla.
Thank you, Mogge. A rose.
You're wasting your money ... But you said ...
I'm too old for you. Find a fellow student.
You're the one I love.
I'm not running round with a medical student.
The Moesgaards never give up. You'll have to.
You pain me.
Do I? Yes. I may do something rash.
Such as? Top myself.
I bet! Are those your last words?
Run along now, I've got work to do.
Sleep Laboratory
Stig ...
You can be a bit brusque, you know.
But do you know why I love you?
Would you like to know?
I love you because you are a great man.
All the others are so tiny ...
When are you going to move your things into my place?
I have to get settled first.
My little August Strindberg! You do have his curls ...
You know I don't like it when you touch my hair.
Stig, we need a holiday.
Haiti. I so much want to go.
Book a table, then.
Haiti? Down there among the ...
What the hell would we do there? History, voodoo, naturopathy.
Pardon? What did you just say?
Nothing. I heard you!
Say it!
Say it now! Naturopathy.
I don't ask you to respect much in my company,
but there are some words I'd ask you to avoid.
Maybe my company doesn't mean that much ...
I only meant ... Naturopathy!
You are a doctor. A scientist.
Go and wash out your mouth with soap!
You're an old fuss pot. This book ...
... will give you a better idea of Haiti.
There'll be no reading here. Spirits! To hell with them!
General Textbook in Neurology Maybe he was right.
Maybe I am just an old fool.
Tell me, Bulder, am I a failure as a mother?
No, no ...
You are lots of things.
A bit of a nutter now and then,
but I'm very fond of you.
You're a good boy, Bulder.
I'll run you home. No need.
I'll get a number 10 bus. Kind of you to offer, though.
Where did you get the chairs from?
Mummy? The chairs ...
Hello?
Hello.
Hello? Hello?
This is the engineer. Is anything the matter?
No, I pressed a button by mistake. And it stopped.
Press the floor you want and it'll start again.
Casualty
Hello, I'm afraid I'm poorly again.
You!
Come here!
Are you afraid?
No.
Would you mind if I touched your face?
No, thanks.
You!
Stand right next to him.
Closer!
Closer, closer, closer. I don't like it.
Like it!
Do you think the people who lie on this table like it?
Will they like it when we begin to cut them up?
I don't know.
I say that the fear of being touched, of getting close to others,
is the fear of death.
Why? Because it is the fear ...
... of the fellowship.
The fellowship. Every time
you move along the seat on the bus to avoid contact
every time you avoid poking your fingers into a patient's illness
it's fear of the fellowship.
That greater fellowship.
Everyone we work on down here has accepted his place
in the fellowship.
A corpse makes no demands.
With sublime generosity a corpse delivers its body
to the science that belongs to all of us.
New legislation requires us to obtain the relatives' consent
if we want to dissect a corpse.
Legislation which may make our work more difficult,
but if we ask openly and reasonably,
nobody can argue that a dissection does not make sense.
The law of the living requires us to ask first.
The law of the dead is to give. That invokes respect.
Right, the first incision.
Hello, we're from neurosurgery.
I think the patient is still in the bathroom.
Mrs. Drusse? Having problems?
No, no, my waterworks are a bit dodgy, that's all.
My name's Judith. From Neurosurgery.
I think we'd better sit down.
When I tried to get out my bus pass I couldn't feel my hand.
Perhaps something is wrong, after all.
I'll have to test you with some needles.
Look the other way.
Can you feel this? No.
Yes, your hand is a bit cold.
Did you notice he looked like you?
You think so? To a T.
You're right.
Have you understood nothing, lad?
The dead don't mind giving us a bit of light relief.
He who cannot take pathology seriously
cannot take life seriously.
Evening is coming.
And the girl is in the lift again.
Now she is there, and now she is not.
Yes, events keep repeating themselves.
All the time.
It's spooky.
Yes, it is. It is spooky.
I can take the lift up by myself.
There, there, my dear ...
I'm with you again.
I have come to help you.
Just what is going on?
There, there, my dear.
Childish is what it is. Childish and eccentric.
The most important doctors here are members of the lodge.
You couldn't be in finer company.
Moesgaard must really believe in you to put you up.
And even from little men's shoulders you can see far.
"Operation Morning Breeze" and the "Sons of the Kingdom"!
They might help you. They help each other, the lodge.
If that operation on Mona goes to the General Medical Council ...
I don't want to hear another word about Mona.
Why do you keep brushing me? Have I dandruff? Am I losing my hair?
Leave me alone ...
Have a nice time, dear.
Doctors and patients sharing lifts! It's unconscionably embarrassing.
In Sweden doctors have their own lifts,
and nobody finds it strange.
I borrowed it from a porter.
Hello. Hello.
May I walk about a bit? Nothing wrong with my legs.
We'll see.
What is that meant to mean? Are you a complete idiot?
Stop it! What a thing to do!
I merely thought you were being introduced to the lodge tonight.
What has that got to do with the lodge?
I just meant mind your nose.
In 1986 Dr. Lindemann severely damaged his.
The ritual isn't without its risks.
Sons of the Kingdom
Maybe it won't be that bad.
Venerable Elder, beloved brethren!
A duckling has come home. Salute, my brethren, salute!
Hi, Hook, thanks for the booze. No trouble.
Duckling, raise thy wing.
Repeat after me. I swear eternal allegiance
to the Sons of the Kingdom, my honourable brethren ...
... and I swear to put their wellbeing and articles
before anything else ...
I swear to put their articles and wellbeing before anything else.
I swear allegiance to the physical sciences
and enmity to the occult in all its forms ...
... and enmity to the occult in all its forms.
And now the ritual!
A real shame. This hasn't happened since 1986.
How are you feeling?
There she is again. Who?
Drusse, the malingerer.
Which accursed multiple idiot has admitted her this time?
I have. Judith examined her. Obvious paraesthesiae.
I've admitted her for observation for a week. Isn't that reasonable?
Of course. You're the professor.
You know what's reasonable, of course.
If they've patched you up now, come back to the brethren.
The rest is just festivities, no more rituals.
I am very grateful.
Don't hold the patient when he gets up.
Shall we try? With all due respect,
in Sweden we try to maintain a patina of civilisation
and concentrate our festive activities
around serious, traditional occasions.
So I have heard. Crayfish, that sort of thing?
Oh, yes, I have a request.
That operation you performed on ... Mona something-or-other.
She suffered permanent brain damage.
That can happen when you rummage about in people's brains.
My dearest chap ... I know, I know.
But I have to see her mother tonight.
I fear she is going to lodge a formal complaint.
The medical stuff is a bit above her head. I promised you'd see her.
At once? Splendid idea.
She's come to see her daughter tonight. Turn on your charm.
It's all part of "Operation Morning Breeze", after all.
Oh, Mona, Mona, Mona, when will I see the day
When I dare to take your pulse without running away ...
Bulder! Mummy!
Drinking after hours? You should be at home.
I could say the same thing to you.
Somebody was calling out.
Mummy! It's not what you think.
Somebody was crying in the lift shaft.
I think it was a little girl.
I couldn't just leave her. I had to get readmitted.
Maybe I've made contact. For the first time!
Imagine spending a lifetime trying to contact the spirit world
and then succeeding in a lift
without even meaning to!
Isn't it exciting? Have you seen any funny goings-on?
Yes, I have ... No, no, no!
Bulder, we've got to get into that lift shaft.
No, Mummy.
Oh, I never imagined you'd help me.
I'm not going to.
I'm still upset about the fuss you made in May 1968.
What fuss was that?
Eh, Bulder? Did you take to the streets?
You might call it that. I left home.
Well, I was 28, Mummy.
You never said a word about not liking living at home.
You really upset me.
I did move back again a week later.
How is your mother now? My mother died years ago.
How nice for you!
What if there's nobody in that lift shaft? Because there isn't.
In that case ...
... I'll hang up my pendulum.
Completely? No more seances?
Since it means so much to you.
Porter's office ...
What's this about a favour I owe you?
Camilla is on duty.
Just give her the bag with my regards.
Tell her I'm sorry, but it was the only way out.
Just tell her. What are you going on about?
Just give her the bag.
Hello, Christian. Hello. This is from Mogge.
He says he's sorry. I don't want anything from him.
He asked me to give you the bag.
Tell him to come and fetch his present again.
He obviously hasn't got the message.
She's got it. Did she open it?
No. Why not?
I don't know. Can I go back to bed?
Excuse me ... I talked to Dr. Hook about coming here.
I should have been in theatre today but I can't stomach it.
He thought this place would be more my cup of tea.
Medical students have to observe operations some time.
I know. Just not today.
OK. Hang your coat over there. Thanks.
Good evening.
My name is Dr. Helmer.
I don't understand Swedish.
Try again. I am Dr. Helmer.
Try again ...
Come on, Darling. Jolly good!
Swallow it now ...
There.
Sister, this lady doesn't understand my accent.
Will you interpret? If I can.
I am the doctor who operated on your daughter.
This is the doctor who operated on Mona.
I know.
She knows. Thank you.
I do understand what the lady says.
One more time ... Mona?
Come on, Darling ...
Mona ...
Little Mona ...
How is Mona?
How is she?
See for yourself. She'll never get better.
There are a few things you should know about her operation.
I have talked to a doctor. Which one?
This kind of thing must never happen. You've taken her from me.
I'd rather she had died.
I'm sorry, my pet ...
I'm sorry ... Don't touch me.
I'm complaining, even if you say you're sorry you made a mistake.
You are accusing me of making a mistake?
Here we have the patient's mother, accusing me
consultant neurosurgeon Helmer, of making a mistake.
There is such a thing as libel, even in this accursed land.
I have opened a few skulls in my time.
That snotnosed kid wasn't the first.
When things are sad, the children cry.
When things are sorrowful, the grownups cry.
But what are things when the building begins to cry?
What is the old lady doing?
She wants to get to the little girl.
Isn't she scared?
No, not any more.
Is the building crying?
The building began crying long ago.
Call it land of angels or heavenly soil ...
Thank you, O Swedish watch towers!
With your plutonium we'll force the Danes to their knees.
Here, Denmark. Shat out of chalk and water.
There, Sweden.
Hewn out of granite.
Danish scum.
Danish scum!
Her fingers seemed to be scratching through the roof
to get to me.
Get away, damn it!
The water has undermined everything.
Dear viewers, allow me to thank you for coming with us to the Kingdom.
We've kicked off cautiously so as not to leave anyone behind.
But from the next episode things hot up considerably.
There is something very wrong here
and a voice is crying out.
How often do voices cry out to you? And how often
do you hold out your hand to them? Often? Rarely? Never?
But this programme is confined to the imagination
and we can never approach the real life God has created.
The most inventive artist is but an ant at his feet.
My name is Lars von Trier and I wish you a very good evening.
Should you wish to spend more time with us at the Kingdom
be prepared to take the Good with the Evil ...